Egypt said on Saturday it is withdrawing its ambassador from Tel Aviv pending an investigation by the Jewish state of the killings of Egyptian security personnel at the border. Egypt's cabinet also summoned the Israeli ambassador in Cairo in protest, demanding an apology from Israeli leadership over statements made accusing Egyptian military commanders of losing their grip on the Sinai peninsula.

According to Reuters, an army officer and two Egyptian security men died when Israeli forces pursued gunmen who killed eight Israelis on a road running close to the Egyptian border on Thursday. Seven other Egyptian security men were hurt.

"The Cabinet committee has decided to withdraw the Egyptian ambassador in Israel until the result of investigations by the Israeli authorities is provided and an apology from the Israeli leadership over the hasty and regrettable statements about Egypt is given," the Cabinet said on its official page online.

"The Cabinet assigns the Egyptian foreign minister to summon the Israeli ambassador in Cairo ... in protest over shootings on the Israeli side of the border that led to deaths on the Egyptian side," state TV reported.

Egyptians have been enraged by the killings, with hundreds of protesters staging a demonstration at the Israeli embassy in Cairo late on Friday, burning an Israeli flag and calling for the expulsion of the ambassador.